Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I would like to inform the House that I'll be resigning from parliament effective from next week. I informed the Prime Minister and the Speaker of my decision earlier today, and the Leader of the Opposition has known of my likely intent since early January, when my decision was cemented following the passing of my father.

It has not been an easy decision for me, but it is necessary for my health and for my family, amongst other reasons. I certainly have not taken this decision lightly. My daughters, who are 18 and 16, know nothing other than their dad being away. They've had to put up with things that no teenager should have to, including death threats, the most recent of which was last week. My son is a bit younger, but I equally want to be a good father to him.

While this profession can be unforgiving at times, serving as a member of parliament has been one of the greatest honours of my life. As a local member I've had opportunities to work with thousands of individuals and groups to advance our community, from Foothills Community Care to the Boronia football club. I've had the privilege of meeting and recognising volunteers who have done 20 or more years of quiet work just helping others—the true heroes of our nation. This alone makes a role as a representative not just worthwhile but immensely rewarding, and it's why I continue to encourage others to consider pursuing it. I thank the people of Aston for putting their faith in me and giving me that responsibility.

In addition, I've been fortunate to have been given ministerial responsibilities, and I was equally fortunate in my timing. I've had just one term in opposition and nine years on the front bench in government, including being in the Morrison cabinet. My passion has always been in social policy rather than economic or security policy, the traditional Liberal focal areas. I've always believed that, while the economy is the foundation of our society, social policies determine whether individuals are given the opportunity and responsibility to realise their potential. Both of these things are required: opportunity and responsibility. That's something that I learned deeply from working with Noel Pearson. That's why I've been passionate about working with colleagues in this House to lead policy reforms over the years, such as strengthening the sustainability of our social security systems, including through stronger job search obligations, which in part have led to the lowest welfare dependency ratio in decades.

We codesigned the cashless welfare card with Indigenous leaders, to be implemented in areas where welfare fuelled alcohol abuse was robbing women and children of their safety, let alone a reasonable life. There is still so much work to do in this area, as Alice Springs is showing. We implemented policies to support social cohesion and strengthen our successful model of integrated multiculturalism, including encouraging the learning of English and providing unlimited free tuition to do so as well as countering some of the CCP misinformation. We made reforms to online gambling, including banning lines of credit, and brought in other new consumer protections, some of which are still being implemented now.

My greatest passion, though, was and is education. I would have loved more time leading that portfolio, but I know that many of our initiatives are being supported by the Albanese government. For example, I'm pleased that legislation has been reintroduced to enact the research commercialisation agenda, which the Business Council of Australia described as 'crucial for our economic success for decades to come'. Equally so, the reforms to initial teacher education, which are absolutely fundamental to lifting school standards. Similarly, the expansion of Teach For Australia, the rolling out of explicit instruction in remote schools and the encouragement of high-fee independent schools to partner with Indigenous ones—all are important. I thank Minister Jason Clare for the constructive manner he has taken to these programs. I don't expect the Labor government to be quite as passionate as me about reforming the school curriculum to present a more positive, optimistic view of our nation, but I certainly encourage the government down that path.

Speaker, as you know, nothing in this place can be achieved alone. I've had incredible support from so many. To start with, I've had brilliant staff in my office over the years, no more so than the leaders of my electorate office, who were with me almost my entire time, Glynis Allan and Sandra Rae, but also Nicole Fewson, Jessica White, Sam Rebecci, Rachel Dryden, Michael Bennett, Boronia Blow and so many others. I have friends and loved ones who have always been in my corner, and they know who they are. I've had colleagues who are now incredible friends. I've had the benefit of a professional public service. To all of you, I simply say: thank you.

I also thank the Prime Minister and the Speaker for the grace that they have shown me. I especially thank Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott for their leadership, support and strength. Peter Dutton is a man of incredible integrity, experience and strength, and I greatly admire him. He would make an excellent Prime Minister. I thank the Liberal Party and the thousands of members that the party comprises, locally headed by the amazing Paul Stone. Our values are as timeless and true today as when Menzies articulated them. Moreover, the future is bright for our side of politics when we are still recruiting people of the talent of Zoe, Keith and Aaron—just to mention the three Victorians who came in at the last election.

I'll just grab a glass of water. Sorry. Just bear with me for a second. I'll just take a breath. Finally, I thank my family. I've got water everywhere now! I want to thank my family particularly, and particularly my kids: Cass, Krissy and Richard, who I'm so very proud of. I'm proud to see my son flourish in his early primary school years and proud to see my daughters grow into being strong, independent woman.

I leave honoured to have served and proud of what we have achieved both for the people of Aston and across Australia, but particularly for Indigenous Australia. There is always much more work to do, and there are always new faces in this place. I believe that the Liberal Party is well served by the emerging talent in Aston, and it is time to pass the baton to someone who can hopefully serve our local community better than anyone before them. It truly has been an honour and a privilege to be a member of this place.

I thank the House.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Aston for showing respect to this parliament, to this House, by announcing his resignation on the floor of the House of Representatives. That's appropriate, and it's consistent with his decision to inform me. We had a meeting this morning, where he informed me of his decision to leave the parliament.

Serving in this House is an incredible honour for all of us, and this is a difficult day and a difficult decision for the member for Aston to come to. We had a good discussion this morning, not least of which was about the conscripts—our children, in particular—and about how difficult it is for our children, who are sometimes exposed to what should never occur, particularly at a time when people can make anonymous comments through social media and through other forms.

The member for Aston has been very lucky. He has had one term in opposition and three terms as a minister. I'm in my third term as a minister, and I've been here since last century. So I say to the member for Aston: we had political differences—I'm not going to include some elements of his service; there's no point in gilding the lily there, and he wouldn't want me to either—but I thank him for his service in this House. I thank him for the sacrifices that are made to serve in this House. On behalf of the government, I say that I respect the decision that he has made and I respect the manner in which it has been made.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his very gracious words. The Prime Minister and I have differences on all sorts of policies, but people should know that the Prime Minister is a person who greatly respects the institution of the parliament, as I do, and despite what might be said in the media and what might be reported of the perceptions of this chamber or conduct in this chamber, the fact is that it must survive and it must thrive, because we live in the greatest country in the world. We do so because there is a contest of ideas and the ability to exchange different ideas—in a robust way, on occasion, but always respecting those who have gone before us, those who have served, and making sure that this institution is in a fit state for those who will come in the years ahead.

I want to say a few words about my friend the member for Aston, Alan Tudge. Alan came into the parliament in 2010. He is a person of great integrity, of huge intellect. He had a significant career and experiences over the course of working with Brendan Nelson, Alexander Downer and Noel Pearson and others within the private sector, which came to bear around our cabinet table and around our leadership group in discussions and in the party room. He does have a great intellect, an appetite for nothing more than seeing what is in our country's best interest. He dedicated himself to that during his time in Aston for the people in his local electorate. It's a great area, and he has been passionate about making sure that, whether it's local roads or projects in his local community, he has been a champion on behalf of those people. But his interests have extended nationally, and he's been very passionate in the area of Indigenous affairs and education in particular, and his contribution to public policy and to advancing the cause of Indigenous Australians and young Australians as their minds experiment, explore and grow has been his particular passion.

The Prime Minister pointed out earlier that our families are conscripts in this business, and yes, they are. The Prime Minister and I have had conversations before about death threats against our own children, and there would be other members in the chamber who have had a similar experience. The online environment has created an opportunity for spineless people, people without the integrity of most decent Australians, who conduct themselves in a way that they should be ashamed of. It does bring an additional pressure not just to those family members but to us as parents, and there is a price that we pay for that. That's not peculiar to any side of the chamber. It's a reality for all of us in this chamber.

We live in a robust democracy, as I say, and we should exchange ideas, but we should do it in a respectful way, particularly without seeking to inflict pain, harm or discord. Certainly, somebody who is as depraved as to think it's acceptable to go after the children of an elected member of parliament—we should completely and utterly condemn it, and the whole parliament speaks as one in doing that.

Has there been pressure on the member for Aston? Of course there has. Has he felt that pressure, particularly with teenage girls? Absolutely. Is he a person who has absolute love and dedication for his children? Yes, he does, very proudly, and it's part of the reason that we're very proud of what he has been able contribute to the Liberal Party over a long period of time. We wish him well in the next chapter of his life. We wish him every success. We wish him well in his return to his family. When I spoke to him at Christmas he was devastated by his father's passing—just another layer, I suppose, of pressure that he has had to endure, and that's the reality of the situation.

I can understand the decision that he has made. The Liberal Party is poorer for him moving on. We wish him and his family bright days ahead. As the Leader of the Liberal Party, on behalf of our members and on behalf of my colleagues here, we extend every best wish to Alan Tudge in the years ahead.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!